Shearing-guide.



mfveeysg. PATENTED AUG. s, 1905.

0. w. STIMPSON.

SHEARING GUIDE.

APPLICATION IILED SBPT.16, 1994.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR:

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UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.

CHARLES IV. STIMPSON, OF ARLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR .OF TWO-THIRDS TO ALEXANDER H. LANE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENN- SYLVANIA, AND ONE-THIRD TO EDWARD C. ROBINSON, OF LYNN, I

MASSACHUSETTS.

SHEARlNG-GUIDE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Aug. 8, 1905.

Application filed September 16, 1904. Serial No. 224,732.

To all whom 212% may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. STIMrsoN, residing at Arlington, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shearing-Guides, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to a shear-guide capable of ready attachment to any standard form of shears or large scissors, by means of which the shears may be guided to cut parallel to the edge of the fabric and at a predeter- Such a shearingguide may be used in the cutting of any sort of material. It is especially useful in cutting strips bias with respect to the fabric from a woven fabric.

My invention comprises a light stiff arm provided with means for readily clamping it at right angles to a shearing-blade and an adjustable guide sliding on said arm.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure I is a plan view of a shear-guide embodying my invention, a portion of the shears to which it is attached being shown and the end of the arm being broken off. Fig. II is a side elevation of said shear-guide with the shear-blades shown in transverse section. Fig. III is an inverted plan view of the adjustable guidepiece. Fig. IV is a side elevation of the device fitted with a differing form of adjustable guide-piece.

Referring to Figs. I and II, 1 is an arm preferably formed of a stout flat strip of metal. To form the clamping device, one end of this arm is'bent downwardly with a slight backward inclination to form the side plate 2 of the clamping device. It is bent forward to form the bight 3 and then upward to form the short opposing side plateet, and the balance of the piece is curved around to form a circular spring 5, the free end of which reaches back toward the plate A, terminating in proximity to the corner from which the circular spring projects. Then a clamping device thus formed is slipped upon the triangular shear-blade14, as shown in Fig. II, the thick edge of the blade is embraced by the side piate 2, the bight 3, and the opposing side plate 4:, and as the edges of the side plates 2 and A are slightly inclined upwardly toward each other the triangular blade is held between these parts with considerable firmness. When the shears are closed with sufficient pressure, the other blade 15 takes the position shown in Fig. 11, pressing back the free end of the spring 5; but under ordinary compression, and always when the shears are opened, this free end is possessed of sufficient tension to exert pressure against the inner side of the blade to which the clamp is attached, thereby increasing the grip of the clamp upon said blade. The arm 1 may be of any convenient length; but I have found that six inches aifords sufficient length for most purposes for which my device is adapted.

In the drawings I have not shown the ,en tire extension of this arm, but merely indicated it as broken ofi about three inches from the clamping device.

The arm is preferably provided with ascale by which the distance of the guide-piece from the clamp may be measured, and thus the width of the strip to be cut predetermined.

The guide-piece consists of a flattened collar 8, fitting upon the arm 1, and a trough 9, formed at right angles thereto and the interior part of which forms the guide for the fabric. In order to make the entire guidepiece of one fiat piece of metal, I prefer to form it as shown in the drawings, the flattened collar 8 being formed by turning under two flaps (best shown in Fig. III) until they nearly meet around the arm 1. The trough 9 is formed from a right-angled extension of this piece, the lower side being provided by the turned-under edge of the same, as best shown in Fig. II of the drawings.

In order to steady and adjust the guide-piece upon the arm, a spring-clip 10 may be formed by the bending of a flap cut out of the top of the flattened collar; but in place of this, as shown in Fig. IV, a socket 12 may be attached to the top 'of the collar to hold aset-screw 13, by means of which the guide-piece may be firmly set in position on the arm.

In operation my device is adjusted upon the shears by means of the clamping device, as shown in the drawings. The edge of the fabric is then inserted within the trough of the guide-piece, the shears being open. By drawing the fabric toward one -as the shears are operated the cutting edges of the shears are maintained along a line parallel to the edge of the fabric running in the trough of the guide-piece, and thus a strip of uniform width 'may be cut.

By forming the trough from an extension which runs rearwardly from the arm toward the handle of the shears I am able to cause the guiding of the fabric to occur much more nearly opposite to the point where the actual shearing operation takes place than in similar devices in which the guiding of the fabric occurs only at or in front of the arm.

It should be noted that the problem of clamping such a device to the blade of the shears is a difficult one by reason of the fact that the shearing edge of either blade is when the shears are closed largely covered by the opposing edge of the other blade. I have overcome this difiiculty by providing the curved spring 5, which opposes its pressure to the side plate 2 and holds the blade with considerable firmness, while at the same time allowing the blades to be sufficiently closed without the application of special pressure, the circular spring first yielding in the direction of the side plate 4 and then if greater pressure is applied allowing the upper blade to pass be tween its free extremity and the side of the lower blade.

It will be understood that much variety is possible in the details of the construction of this device and that l have only shown the form in which I prefer to construct it with a view to cheapness, lightness, and efficiency.

I claim l. A shear-guide consisting of an arm pro vided with a guide-piece; and a clamping device, for attaching the arm at right angles to a shearing-blade, which consists of portions of the arm bent to partially encircle the blade,

and a spring formed by bending the end of said arm next to the blade around until it presses against the inner surface of the blade, substantially as set forth.

2. A shear-guide consisting of an arm provided with a guide-piece; a clamping device for attaching the arm to a shearing-blade which consists of a single strip of metal bent to form a side plate, a bight, an opposing side piece, and a curved spring, the end of which reaches to and presses against the inner surface of the blade, substantially as set forth.

3. In a shear-guide, in combination an arm, provided with a clamping device for attaching said arm at right angles to a shearingblade; and an adjustable guide-piece with a guiding-trough which extends rearwardly from the arm toward the handle of the shears, substantially as set forth.

4. In a shear-guide, in combination an arm having means for attaching it at right angles to a shearing-blade; and a guide-piece freely adjustable thereon, said guidepiece being formed of a single flat piece of metal by the bending under of thn edges thereof, one portion being thus formed into a collar which encircles the arm, while the remainder consists of a portion extending rearwardly at right angles to this collar and is formed into a trough by the downward bending of the back edge of said rearwardly extending portion, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name, at Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, this 31st day of August, 1904:.

CHARLES W. STIMPSON.

Witnesses:

CHARLOTTE F. WHnELocK, MALCOLM MoLoU 

